Methods for forming co-planar wafer-scale chip packages

ABSTRACT

Economical methods for forming a co-planar multi-chip wafer-level packages are proposed. Partial wafer bonding and partial wafer dicing techniques are used to create chips as well as pockets. The finished chips are then mounted in the corresponding pockets of a carrier substrate, and global interconnects among the chips are formed on the top planar surface of the finished chips. The proposed methods facilitate the integration of chips fabricated with different process steps and materials. There is no need to use a planarization process such as chemical-mechanical polish to planarize the top surfaces of the chips. Since the chips are precisely aligned to each other and all the chips are mounted facing up, the module is ready for global wiring, which eliminates the need to flip the chips from an upside-down position.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a multi-chip wafer levelpackage, and more particularly, to methods for forming a multi-chipwafer-level packages using partial wafer bonding and partial waferdicing techniques.

BACKGROUND

A fundamental limit that prevents the scaling of CMOS (complimentarymetal oxide) semiconductor processes beyond the physical dimensions ofatoms has resulted in an increase in the importance of a low-cost,high-performance multi-chip packages for the design of VLSI (very largescale integrated) circuits. In an embedded system-on-a-chip (SoC)design, different memory and logic circuits on the same substrate oftenrequire different processing steps. For example, nonvolatile flashmemory uses double poly-silicon floating gates with an ultra thin tunneloxide, which are not compatible with the conventional CMOS processes forfabricating logic circuits.

In addition, it is difficult to integrate chips that are fabricated ondifferent substrate materials, such as silicon, glass, silicon carbide(SiC), gallium arsenide. (GaAs), and other compounds of groups III-V.The integration of specific integrated circuits (ASIC) with devices suchas magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and micro-electro-mechanicalsystems (MEMS) presents further challenges in the design of multi-chippackages.

For example, in a two-dimensional multi-chip package, chips are placedhorizontally on a carrier and global interconnects are formed on top ofthe chips, or on a second-level package. However, due to the variationof chip thickness, it is often necessary to planarize the bonded chipsurface, and the gaps between the chips and the surrounding areas.Without a flat surface, interconnect processes based on a Damascenemethod cannot be properly preformed on a bonded chip surface.Furthermore, without critical alignment control, each carrier will needto have a customized mask set to form global interconnects, whichincreases the manufacturing cost.

Further, in a three-dimensional stacked-chip package where two or morechips are stacked vertically, interconnections among stacked chips areformed at the edges of each chip using a wire bond or a tag bond.Stacked chips that are used in portable devices must be thinned down inorder to fit into the limited space available. As the number of stackedchips increases, the thickness of the chips must be reduced. The numberof chips that can be stacked is determined by the maximum availablespace and the minimum chip thickness.

Therefore, a need exists for economical and cost effective method offorming a multi-chip wafer-level chip packages without the need forplanarizing a bonded chip surface in order to form global interconnectsand for facilitating the integration of chips fabricated by differentprocessing steps and with different materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include methods forforming multi-chip wafer-level chip packages without the need forplanarizing a bonded chip surface to form global interconnects and forfacilitating the integration of chips fabricated by different processingsteps and with different materials.

An exemplary embodiment relates to a method of forming a multi-chipwafer-level package. The method includes forming a plurality ofdifferent-type chips on a plurality of chip substrates, wherein each ofthe plurality of chip substrates is used to form only one-type of chip,detaching said plurality of different-type chips from said plurality ofchip substrates, forming pockets in a carrier substrate, wherein each ofthe pockets holds one of said plurality of different-type chips, andmounting said plurality of chips into their corresponding pockets in thecarrier substrate such that a top surface of said plurality of chips issubstantially co-planar with a top surface of the carrier substrate. Thedifferent-type chips may be Memory chips, Logic chips, MEMs devices, RFcircuits or passive devices.

The step of forming a plurality of the chips on a plurality of chipsubstrates may also include bonding a wafer to STI (shallow trenchisolation) regions in each of the chip substrates such that voids areformed adjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and a chipsubstrate, wherein areas in the wafer above the STI regions defineinter-chip areas and areas in the wafer above the void define chipareas. In addition, a discrete device may be formed in the inter-chipareas of the chip substrate, wherein the discrete device may be aninductor, a decoupling capacitor, or electrostatic discharge (ESD)diode.

In the method above, before bonding the wafer to the STI regions, themethod may also include patterning a dielectric layer on the chipsubstrate, etching the pattern dielectric layer to define off-chipareas, forming STI regions in the off-chip areas, and removing thedielectric layer between the off-chip areas.

The method may also include thinning said wafer, forming devices in saidthinned wafer, forming BEOL (Back-End-Of-Line) interconnects on saidthinned wafer, and forming finishing devices and interconnects in thechip areas to complete the formation of said plurality of chips.

The step of detaching said plurality of chips from said plurality ofchip substrates may also include coating a top surface of said thinnedwafer with a passivation layer, and dicing, or etching, a channelthrough the chip areas of said thinned wafer to the voids, therebydetaching said plurality of chips from said plurality of chipsubstrates.

The step of forming pockets in the carrier substrate may also includebonding a wafer to STI regions in the carrier substrate such that voidsare formed adjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and thecarrier substrate, wherein areas in the wafer above the STI regionsdefine inter-chip areas and areas in the wafer above the voids definechip areas.

The step of mounting said plurality of chips into their correspondingpockets may also include depositing a dielectric layer in the chip areashaving a substantially same thickness as the voids, and aligning saidplurality of chips within their corresponding pockets.

Another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of forming a multi-chipwafer level package. The method includes forming a plurality of same ordifferent-type chips on a corresponding chip substrate, detaching saidplurality of chips from said corresponding chip substrate, forming aplurality of pockets on a carrier substrate such that each of theplurality of pockets holds a predetermined-type chip, selecting chipsfrom, the plurality of same or different-type chips that correspond tothe predetermined-type chips for each of the plurality of pockets, andmounting the selected chips into their corresponding pocket such that atop surface of the selected chips is substantially co-planar with a topsurface of the carrier substrate.

These and other exemplary embodiments, features, aspects, and advantagesof the present invention will be described and become more apparent fromthe detailed description of exemplary embodiments when read inconjunction with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate a method for forming a multi-chip wafer package,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a method of forming chips on a dummy carrier,according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A-3L illustrate a method for forming multi-chip wafer-scalepackage, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a chip as shown in FIG. 3K after a partialwafer dicing technique has been performed.

FIG. 4B is a top view of the chip as shown in FIG. 3K after a partialwafer dicing technique has been performed.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate a method for detaching a chip formed on a carriersubstrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a multi-chipwafer-level package, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a plurality ofchips on a chip substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a plurality ofpockets in a chip carrier substrate, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detaching a chip fromthe chip substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for mounting a chipdetached from the chip substrate into a predetermined pocket in acarrier substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention as described herein providelow-cost methods for fabricating multi-chip wafer-level packages, whereboth chips and carrier are formed using “partial wafer bonding” and“partial wafer dicing” techniques. In accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, in general, the use of partialwafer bonding allows the formation of chips in an unbonded area of athin silicon layer on a wafer carrier and the formation of pockets in anunbonded area of a top thin silicon layer on a carrier substrate. Duringa chip integration process, chips are diced out of a wafer carrier usinga partial dicing technique, and the pocket is formed on a carriersubstrate using the same partial wafer dicing technique. Finally, thechips from the same or different wafer carriers are placed and bondedinto their corresponding pockets.

FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate a method for forming a multi-chip wafer package,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Moreparticularly, FIGS. 1A-1E illustrate a process of forming pockets in acarrier substrate 2 (“cs”) and placement of chips within the pockets ofthe carrier substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention,

Referring to FIG. 1A, a silicon layer 6 for forming pockets at a surfaceof the carrier substrate 2 is partially bonded at oxide sites 8 of thecarrier substrate 2. In addition, the silicon layer 6 is not bonded tothe carrier substrate 2 at non-oxidized areas 3, thereby forming amicroscopic void 16 (as depicted in the exploded portion of FIG. 1A) inthe non-oxidized areas 3 below the silicon layer 6. Further, the void 16includes air or a nitride layer. Furthermore, a CVD nitride film may bedeposited and patterned so that the void 16 includes a nitride film. Inshort, a microscopic void, a CVD nitride film, or a roughened surfaceprevents bonding at a surface of a carrier substrate.

Referring to the exploded view of a portion of FIG. 1A, the explodedview shows the carrier substrate 2 including a shallow trench isolation,STI, region 8, the silicon layer 6, a portion of the void 16 formedbetween the silicon layer 6 and the carrier substrate 2 and adjacent tothe STI region 8. Preferably, the void 16 comprises air, a nitridelayer, or a roughened silicon surface to prohibit bonding.

Next, a conventional metallization process is then carried out on thesilicon layer 6 in FIG. 1B, thereby forming an interconnect layer 10.Then, pockets (12, 13, 14, and 15) of FIG. 1C are formed in the carriersubstrate 2. A partial wafer dicing technique is used to form thepockets in the carrier substrate 2.

FIGS. 1D and 1E illustrate a transfer of chips 11A, 24, 26 and 28 frommultiple dummy carriers into their corresponding pockets 12-15 in acarrier substrate 2. It is to be understood that chips 11A, 24, 26, and28 represent different types of chips, wherein each type of chip isformed on a separate carrier substrate. Further, an insulating layer 20may be deposited on the carrier substrate 2 to hold multiple chips fromdifferent dummy carriers in place, to fill gaps that may be presentbetween a chip and the STI regions 8, and to provide a planarize topsurface so that a global interconnect 22 can be formed on the carriersubstrate 2 as shown in FIG. 1E.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a method of forming chips on a dummy carrier,according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 2A, a semiconductor layer 6′ for forming chips ispartially bonded to a dummy carrier 4 at the STI regions 8′. Thesemiconductor layer 6′ can be silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide,CdSe, a compound of a group II element and a group IV element, or acompound of a group III and a group V element. In other words, differentmaterial may be used to form different chips. After dicing chips 11A-11Eout from the dummy carrier 4, at least one of the chips, e.g. chip 11A,can be assembled into its corresponding pocket (e.g., pocket 14) of thecarrier substrate 2. Here, only one dummy carrier 4, or s1, is shown;however, it is to be understood that there may be many other dummycarriers with the same or different semiconductor layers to produce manydifferent types of chips, e.g., memory chips, logic circuits, MEMsdevices, RF circuits, or passive devices. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B,each dummy carrier could produce a plurality of identical chips 11A-11E.It is to be understood that although the devices 11A-11E shown in FIG.2B have a rectangular shape, chips 11A-11E may be formed having manydifferent shapes, e.g., square, polygon, u-shaped, v-shaped, etc. Inaddition, chips 11A-11E may be formed having a same shape of varyingsizes. For example, chips 11A-11E may be capacitors having a rectangularshape of varying lengths.

In addition, the semiconductor layer 6′ is not bonded to the dummycarrier 4 at non-oxidized areas 3′, thereby forming a void 16′, as shownin the exploded view of FIG. 2A, at the non-oxidized areas 3′. Further,the void 16′ may include air or a nitride layer. It should be noted thatthe use of a partial wafer bonding technique provides tighter controlover the thickness of the silicon layer 6 and the semiconductor layer 6′in FIGS. 1A and 2A, respectively. In an expanded view of a portion ofFIG. 2A, the dummy carrier 4 includes a shallow trench isolation, STI,region 8′, the semiconductor layer 6′, and a region 16′ formed betweenthe semiconductor layer 6′ and the dummy carrier 4 and adjacent to theSTI region 8′. Preferably, the region 16′ comprises air, a nitridelayer, or a roughened silicon surface to prohibit bonding.

Next, devices (not shown) are formed in the semiconductor layer 6′ onthe dummy carrier 4. A conventional metallization process is thencarried out on the semiconductor layer 6′ in FIG. 2B, thereby forming aninterconnects layer 10′ having about the same thickness as theinterconnect layer 10 as shown in FIG. 1B. Then, the chips 11A-11E ofFIG. 2C are detached from the dummy carrier 4. A partial wafer dicingtechnique is used to detach the chips 11A-11E from the dummy carrier 4.At least one of the chips 11A-11E, e.g., chip 11A, from the dummycarrier 4 is placed in its corresponding pocket, e.g., pocket 14, formedin the carrier substrate 2 of FIG. 1C. Each dummy carrier may have thesame or a different semiconductor top layer 6′. However, within a dummycarrier, identical chips are produced. For example, a first dummycarrier s1 having silicon top layer may be used to produce a pluralityof DRAM memory chips. A second dummy carrier s2 having magnetic toplayer may be used to produce a plurality of MRAM chips. During assembly,at least one chip from each of the dummy carriers s1-sn may be placedinto its corresponding pocket of a carrier substrate cs. For example, aMRAM chip from the second dummy carrier s2 and four (4) DRAM chips fromthe first dummy carrier s1 may be placed in their corresponding pocketsof a carrier substrate cs during the assembly of a multi-chipwafer-level package.

It is important to apply the same process, including material depositionand thickness control, to both a carrier substrate cs having pockets anddummy carriers in which chips are produced thereon so that a pocketdepth and a chip thickness can be matched. In other words, all thefinished chips should have a substantially identical thicknessequivalent to the depth of the pockets. Partial wafer dicing is carriedout by using a mask and etching technique to precisely control the sizeand alignment between chips in their corresponding pockets. Each chip isthen placed and glued in its corresponding pocket with a proper adhesiveor thermal paste. This process does not require any additional steps ofplanarization or carrier transfer, as all chips are already facing up sothat the formation of global interconnects to electrically connect thechips on a carrier substrate may be performed.

Further, a partial wafer dicing technique enables the cutting andremoval of chips from a dummy carrier without breaking the dummycarrier. The chips are removed from the dummy carrier by partiallycutting through a wafer, preferably just the top semiconductor layer onthe dummy carrier. Since this area is not bonded to the dummy carrier,once the wafer is partially cut through, the chips are detached from thedummy carrier. In other words, the partial wafer dicing technique canonly be performed when the wafer is partially bonded to the dummycarrier. The advantage of partial-bonding and partial-dicing is, oncethe chips are detached from their respective dummy carriers, the chipsthickness will substantially match the pocket depth of the carriersubstrate, thereby avoiding the need for a harsh polishing step.

FIGS. 3A-3L illustrate a method for forming both chips and carrier formulti-chip wafer-scale packages according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. In FIG. 3A, a dielectric layer 301 is depositedon a top surface of a dummy carrier 300. The thickness of the dielectriclayer 301 determines the depth of the void to be formed in a subsequentstep. In FIG. 3B, the dielectric layer 301 is patterned by using aconventional lithographic method with a photoresist mask 303. In FIG.3C, the dielectric layer 301 is etched by a dry etch process to defineoff-chip areas 304. The off-chip areas 304 will be used as a bondingsite in a subsequent step. In FIG. 3D, shallow trench isolation (STI)regions 305 are formed in the off-chip regions 304. In FIG. 3E, thedielectric layer 301 is removed to form a gap region 306. In FIG. 3F, awafer 307 is bonded to the dummy substrate 300 at the STI regions 305,thereby forming a void 302 in the gap region 306. The area above thevoid 302 in the wafer 307 defines a chip area 312, and the area in thewafer 307 above the STI regions 305 defines an inter-chip area 311. InFIG. 3G, the wafer 307 is thinned, thereby forming a thinned wafer 308.Preferably, the thickness of the thinned wafer 308 is about 50 to about100 um. This thinning technique and thickness control has been fullyestablished and thus will not be described further. In FIG. 3H, devices310 are formed inside the thinned wafer layer 308. In FIG. 3I, BEOL, orBack-End-Of-Line, interconnects 309 are formed on the thinned waferlayer 308. Further, a discrete device may be formed in the inter-chipareas 311 of the thinned wafer layer 308 of the dummy carrier 300. Thediscrete device may include an inductor, a decoupling capacitor, anelectrostatic discharge (ESD) diodes, or any other discrete device. Thatis, prior to cutting out of chips 315A and 315B, these discrete devicesreside in the inter-chip areas and may be utilized for testing andmonitoring the workings of the chips formed therein. Further, after theformation of the BEOL interconnects 309, the chip areas 312A and 312Bare filled with finished devices and interconnects, not shown, tocomplete the formation of chips 315A and 315B, as shown in FIG. 3J.

Referring to FIG. 3J, a passivation layer 314 is coated on a top surfaceof the thinned wafer layer 308 to prepare the wafer for dicing. Sincethe thinned wafer layer 308 is thin, it is possible to use a laserdicing technique or reactive ion etching to cut and detach the chips315A and 315B from the thinned wafer layer 308 by cutting a channel 319,as shown in FIG. 4A, around the chips 315A and 315B. Preferably, thechannel width is about 15 um to about 40 um. FIG. 3K shows a desirablelocation 320 for dicing through the thinned wafer layer 308 to the void302, thereby detaching the chips 315A and 315B from the thinned waferlayer 308. Further, the devices formed at the inter-chip areas of thedummy carrier, or chip carrier, may only be used for testing andmonitoring chips formed therein because once the chips are removed fromthe dummy carrier, the dummy carrier becomes useless and will bediscarded.

Furthermore, the above described process is also used to form pockets ina carrier substrate. In addition, the steps related to forming chipswithin the thin wafer are not performed with respect the carriersubstrate. However, discrete devices may be formed in the inter-chipareas of the carrier substrate. The discrete devices may include aninductor, a decoupling capacitor, an electrostatic discharge (ESD)diodes, or any other discrete devices. That is, when the pockets are cutout, these discrete devices reside in the inter-chip areas so that thesediscrete devices may be utilized as part of a system after chips havebeen formed.

FIG. 3L illustrates a structure of a carrier substrate according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG.3L shows a carrier substrate structure after dummy chips have beenremoved from the non-bonded areas of the carrier substrate. Nowreferring to FIG. 3L, after the dummy chips, not shown, are cut anddetached from the carrier substrate 300′, a structure 330 is formedcomprising pockets 317A and 317B and prefabricated useful devices 316A,316B, and 316C in the inter-chip areas 311.

It should also be noted that pockets and chips can be formed ondifferent wafers at different times, and/or from different sources,since the process steps are identical, the thickness of the chips anddepth of the pockets are closely tracked. Prior to dropping the chipsinto their corresponding pockets, a dielectric layer having the samethickness as the dielectric layer 301 of FIG. 3A must be deposited tofill the void 302. Preferably, the void 302 is filled with a dielectriclayer, an adhesive layer, or a thermal paste prior to dropping the chipsinto their respective pockets. As a result, when all the chips aredropped into their corresponding pockets, a top surface of all the chipsare substantially co-planar with a top surface of the wafer having thepockets, thereby decreasing the number of steps and processes requiredfor forming a multi-chip wafer-level integration package. Furthermore,discrete devices formed in inter-chip areas of a dummy carrier are usedfor testing and monitoring the workings of chips formed thereon.Whereas, discrete devices formed in inter-chip areas of a carriersubstrate are an integral part of a multi-chip wafer-level package.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a chip as shown in FIG. 3K after a partialwafer dicing technique has been performed. Referring to FIG. 4A,predetermined portions of the thinned wafer layer 308 have been removedby using a partial wafer dicing technique, thereby detaching the chip315A from the carrier substrate 300. In addition, a buffer region 318 isdefined around the chip 315A. It should be further noted here that adicing technique is performed by dicing through the thinned wafer layer308 to the void 302, thereby detaching the chip 315A from the substrate.In other words, since the chip 315A is not attached to the substrate atthe void 302, the chip 315A is detached once the thinned wafer layer 308is cut and diced around the chip 315A.

FIG. 4B is a top view of the chip as shown in FIG. 3K after a partialwafer dicing technique has been performed. Referring to FIG. 4B, chip315A is show having a buffer region 318 along the outer perimeter of thechip 315A adjacent to the cutting channel 319.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate a method for detaching a chip formed on carriersubstrate according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.In FIG. 5A, a thin wafer layer 510 having a thickness d1 is bonded to athicker substrate 530 having a thickness of d2 to sustain the mechanicalstrength during handling and processing. Preferably, the thickness of d1is about 50 um to about 300 um. The bonded area 521 is formed by thewafer layer 510 bonding to the patterned oxide layer 540. The unbondedarea 522 results from the lack of an oxide layer. A chip 520, or die, isformed in the thin wafer layer 510 within the unbonded area. However, itshould be noted that the wafer layer 510 may be silicon, germanium,gallium arsenide, CdSe, a compound of a Group II element and a Group VIelement, or a compound of a Group III element and a Group IV element. Apartial wafer dicing technique may be performed by forming a photoresistmask 500 on top of the thin wafer layer 510 and exposing the photoresistmask 500 by lithography. After the photomask 500 is defined, a dry orwet etching process is carried out to etch the thin wafer layer 510.Alternatively, the partial dicing can also be done using maskless directlaser cutting to detach the chip 520. FIG. 5B shows trenches 550, whichare formed by etching through the thin wafer layer 510 to the unbondedarea 522 surrounding the chip 520. In FIG. 5C, the chip 520, or die, isremoved from the unbonded area 522, thereby forming a pocket 560. AHigh-density plasma, or reactive ion etch, can be used to etch trench550 and cut the chip or die effectively. Similarly, a pocket can beformed by removing a dummy chip from the substrate. The depth of thepocket should have substantially the same thickness as the real chip, sothat after the chip is mounted, a top surface of the chip will besubstantially co-planar with a top surface of the wafer. By performingthis method, the package is ready for global chip-to-chip wiring withoutthe need for any further preparation such as planarizing the top surfaceof the bonded chips.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include methods forforming a multi-chip wafer-level package that facilitate the integrationof chips fabricated with different process steps and materials in aneconomical way. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forminga multi-chip wafer-level package, according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention. Now referring to FIG. 6, a plurality of chipsis formed on a chip substrate (step 602). Next, pockets are formed in acarrier substrate by detaching dummy chips from the carrier substrate(step 604). Then, the chips are detached from the chip substrate (step606). It is to be understood that steps 604 and 606 may be performedsimultaneously or in a different order. The chips detached from the chipsubstrate are then mounted into predetermined pockets in the carriersubstrate such that a top surface of the chips is substantiallyco-planar with a top surface of the carrier substrate (step 608).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a plurality ofchips on a chip substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. In particular, FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary methodof step 602 in FIG. 6, which relates to forming chips on a chipsubstrate. Now referring to FIG. 7, a dielectric layer on a chipsubstrate is patterned (step 702). Next, the pattern dielectric layer isetched to define off-chip areas (step 704). Shallow trench isolation(STI) regions are formed in the off-chip areas (step 706). Then, thedielectric layer between the off-chip areas is removed (step 708). Next,a wafer is bonded to the STI regions such that a void is formed adjacentto the STI regions and between the wafer and chip substrate, wherein anarea in the wafer above the STI regions defines an inter-chip area andan area above the void defines a chip area (step 710). Then, the waferis thinned (step 712). Devices are then formed in the thinned wafer(step 714). Next, BEOL interconnects are formed on the thinned waferhaving devices formed therein (step 716). Finally, finishing devices andinterconnects are formed in the chip area of the thinned wafer tocomplete the formation of a chip (step 718). Further, it is to beunderstood that the process described above may be employed to form manydifferent types of chips on different chip substrates.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a plurality ofpockets in a carrier substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplarymethod of step 604 in FIG. 6, which relates to forming pockets in acarrier substrate. Now referring to FIG. 8, a dielectric layer on thecarrier substrate is patterned (step 802). Next, the pattern dielectriclayer is etched to define off-chip areas (step 804). Then, shallowtrench isolation (STI) regions are formed in the off-chip areas (step806). The dielectric layer is then removed between the off-chip areas(step 808). Next, a wafer is bonded to the STI regions such that a voidis formed adjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and thecarrier substrate, wherein an area in the wafer above the STI regionsdefines an inter-chip area and an area above the void defines a chiparea (step 810). Then, the wafer is thinned (step 812). Next, BEOLinterconnects are formed on the thinned wafer (step 814). A top surfaceof said thinned wafer is coated with a passivation layer (step 816).Next, a channel is diced in the chip areas of the wafer such that apredetermined portion, or dummy chip, of the wafer is detach, therebyforming pockets within the wafer (step 818).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detaching a chip fromthe chip substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In particular, FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary method of step606 in FIG. 6, which relates to detaching the chips from the chipsubstrate. Now referring to FIG. 9, a top surface of said thinned waferis coated with a passivation layer to protect the chip (step 902). Next,a channel is diced through the chip areas of the wafer to the void,thereby detaching the chip from the chip substrate (step 904).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for mounting a chipdetached from the chip substrate into a predetermined pocket in acarrier substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In particular, FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary method ofstep 608 in FIG. 6. Now referring to FIG. 10, an adhesive layer orthermal paste having a same thickness as the void is deposited in abottom portion of the pocket (step 1002). Next, the chips are placed andaligned within their corresponding pockets (step 1004). Further, adielectric layer having the same dimensions as the void may be used inlieu of the adhesive layer or thermal paste.

In summary, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provideefficient methods for forming a co-planar multi-chip wafer-level packagewhere partial wafer bonding and partial wafer dicing techniques are usedto create chips as well as pockets at a surface of a wafer. The finishedchips are mounted in the corresponding pockets of a wafer, and globalinterconnects among the chips are formed on the top planar surface ofbonded chips. These methods facilitate the integration of chipsfabricated with different process steps and materials. There is no needto use a harsh planarization process such as chemical-mechanical polishto planarize the top surfaces of the chips. Since the chips areprecisely aligned to each other and all the chips are mounted facing up,the module is ready for global wiring, which eliminates the need to flipthe chips from an upside-down position.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof. It will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes inform and detail may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A method for forming a multi-chip wafer-level package, comprising:forming a plurality of different-type chips on a plurality of chipsubstrates, wherein each of the plurality of chip substrates is used toform only one-type of chip; detaching said plurality of different-typechips from said plurality of chip substrates; forming pockets in acarrier substrate, wherein each of the pockets holds one of thedifferent-type chips; and mounting said plurality of chips into theircorresponding pockets in the carrier substrate such that a top surfaceof said plurality of chips is substantially co-planar with a top surfaceof the carrier substrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step offorming a plurality of the chips on a plurality of chip substratescomprises the step of: bonding a wafer to shallow trench isolation (STI)regions in each of the chip substrates such that voids are formedadjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and a chip substrate,wherein areas in the wafer above the STI regions define inter-chip areasand areas in the wafer above the void define chip areas.
 3. The methodof claim 2, before bonding the wafer to the STI regions, furthercomprises the following steps: patterning a dielectric layer on the chipsubstrate; etching the pattern dielectric layer to define off-chipareas; forming STI regions in the off-chip areas; and removing thedielectric layer between the off-chip areas.
 4. The method of claim 2,further comprising: thinning the wafer; forming devices in said thinnedwafer; forming BEOL interconnects on said thinned wafer; and formingfinishing devices and interconnects in the chip areas to complete theformation of said plurality of chips.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe step of detaching said plurality of chips from said plurality ofchip substrates comprises the steps of: coating a top surface of saidthinned wafer with a passivation layer; and dicing a channel through thechip areas of said thinned wafer to the voids, thereby detaching saidplurality of chips from said plurality of chip substrates.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the step of forming pockets in the carrier substratecomprises the step of: bonding a wafer to STI regions in the carriersubstrate such that voids are formed adjacent to the STI regions andbetween the wafer and the carrier substrate, wherein areas in the waferabove the STI regions define inter-chip areas and areas in the waferabove the voids define chip areas.
 7. The method of claim 6, prior tobonding a wafer to the STI regions, further comprises the followingsteps: patterning a dielectric layer on the chip carrier; etching thepattern dielectric layer to define off-chip areas; forming shallowtrench isolation (STI) regions in the off-chip areas; and removing thedielectric layer between the off-chip areas.
 8. The method of claim 6,further comprising: thinning the wafer; forming BEOL (Back-End-Of-Line)interconnects on said thinned wafer; coating a top surface of saidthinned wafer with a passivation layer; and dicing a channel in the chipareas of said thinned wafer such that a predetermined portion of saidthinned wafer is detach, thereby forming pockets within said thinnedwafer.
 9. The method of claim 2, further comprising forming a discretedevice in the inter-chip areas of the chip substrate.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the discrete device is an inductor, a decouplingcapacitor, or electrostatic discharge (ESD) diode.
 11. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the step of mounting said plurality of chips into theircorresponding pockets comprises the steps of: depositing a dielectriclayer in the chip areas having a substantially same thickness as thevoids; and aligning said plurality of chips within their correspondingpockets.
 12. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of mounting saidplurality of chips into their corresponding pockets comprises the stepsof: depositing an adhesive layer or thermal paste in the chip areashaving a substantially same thickness as the voids; and aligning saidplurality of chips within their corresponding pockets.
 13. The methodclaim 11, further comprising depositing an insulating layer on thecarrier substrate to hold the plurality of chips in place.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising forming global inter-connects onthe carrier substrate.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thedifferent-type chips are Memory chips, Logic chips, MEMs devices, RFcircuits or passive devices.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of chips formed on a chip substrate are formed comprising asame shape of substantially a same size.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of chips formed on a chip substrate are formedcomprising a same shape of varying sizes.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the shape is a rectangle, a square, a v-shape, a u-shape, or apolygon shape.
 19. A method for forming a multi-chip wafer levelpackage, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of different-typechips on a corresponding chip substrate; detaching said plurality ofchips from said corresponding chip substrate; forming a plurality ofpockets on a carrier substrate such that each of the plurality ofpockets holds a predetermined-type chip; selecting chips from theplurality of different-type chips that correspond to thepredetermined-type chips for each of the plurality of pockets; andmounting the selected chips into their corresponding pocket such that atop surface of the selected chips is substantially co-planar with a topsurface of the carrier substrate.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinmounting the selected chips further comprises the step of aligning theselected chips in their corresponding pocket.
 21. The method of claim19, wherein the step of forming a plurality of different-type chips on acorresponding chip substrate comprises the step of: bonding a wafer toSTI regions formed in the corresponding chip substrate such that voidsare formed adjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and thecorresponding chip substrate, wherein areas in the wafer above the STIregions are inter-chip areas and areas in the wafer above the voids arechip areas.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: thinning thewafer; forming devices in said thinned wafer; forming BEOL(Back-End-Of-Line) interconnects on said thinned wafer; and formingfinishing devices and interconnects in the chip areas to complete theformation of the plurality of chips.
 23. The method of claim 21, beforebonding a wafer to STI regions, further comprises the steps of:patterning a dielectric layer on the corresponding chip substrate;etching the pattern dielectric layer to define off-chip areas; formingshallow trench isolation (STI) regions in the off-chip areas; andremoving the dielectric layer between the off-chip areas.
 24. The methodof claim 22, wherein the step of detaching said plurality of chips fromsaid corresponding substrate comprises the steps of: coating a topsurface of said thinned wafer with a passivation layer; and dicingchannels in the chip areas of said thinned wafer such that the pluralityof chips are detach from said thinned wafer.
 25. The method of claim 19,further comprising: bonding a wafer to STI regions formed in a carriersubstrate such that voids are formed adjacent to the STI regions andbetween the wafer and the carrier substrate, wherein areas in the waferabove the STI regions are inter-chip areas and areas in the wafer abovevoids are chip areas.
 26. The method of claim 25, prior to mounting theselected chips into their corresponding pocket, further comprises thestep of depositing a dielectric layer in the voids having a thicknesssubstantially equivalent to a thickness of the voids of the carriersubstrate.
 27. The method of claim 22, further comprises the step offorming a discrete device in the inter-chip areas of a chip substrate,wherein the discrete device is used to test and monitor the workings ofthe plurality of chips formed on the corresponding chip substrate. 28.The method of claim 27, wherein the discrete device is an inductor, adecoupling capacitor, or electrostatic discharge (ESD) diode.
 29. Themethod of claim 19, further comprises the step of depositing aninsulating layer on the carrier substrate after the selected chips havebeen mounted in their corresponding pockets.
 30. The method of claim 29,further comprises the step of forming global inter-connects on thecarrier substrate after depositing the insulating layer on the carriersubstrate.
 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of mounting saidselected chips into their corresponding pockets comprises the steps of:depositing an adhesive layer or thermal paste in the void having asubstantially same thickness as the void; and placing the selected chipsin their corresponding pockets.
 32. The method of claim 19, wherein thedifferent-type chips are Memory chips, Logic chips, MEMs devices, RFcircuits or passive devices.
 33. The method of claim 25, furthercomprises the step of forming a discrete device in the inter-chip areasof a carrier substrate.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the discretedevice is an inductor, a decoupling capacitor, or electrostaticdischarge (ESD) diode.
 35. The method of claim 19, wherein the pluralityof chips formed on a chip substrate are formed comprising a same sizeand a same shape.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the shape is arectangle, a square, a v-shape, a u-shape, or a polygon shape.
 37. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the plurality of chips formed on a chipsubstrate are formed of a same shape and of varying sizes.
 38. A methodfor forming a multi-chip wafer level package, comprising the steps of:forming shallow trench isolation (STI) regions in a chip substrate;bonding a wafer to STI regions in the chip substrate such that voids areformed adjacent to the STI regions and between the wafer and the chipsubstrate, wherein areas in the wafer above the STI regions defineinter-chip areas and areas in the wafer above the void define chipareas; thinning the wafer; forming devices in the thinned wafer; formingBEOL interconnects on the thinned wafer; and forming finishing devicesand interconnects in the chip areas to complete the formation of aplurality of chips.
 39. The method of claim 38, further comprises thestep of detaching said plurality of chips from the chip substrate. 40.The method of claim 39, wherein the step of detaching said plurality ofchips from the chip substrate comprises the steps of: coating a topsurface of said thinned wafer with a passivation layer; and dicing achannel through the chip areas of said thinned wafer to the voids,thereby detaching said plurality of chips from said plurality of chipsubstrates.
 41. A method for forming a multi-chip wafer level package,comprising the steps of: forming shallow trench isolation (STI) regionsin a carrier substrate; bonding a wafer to the STI regions in thecarrier substrate such that voids are formed adjacent to the STI regionsand between the wafer and the carrier substrate, wherein areas in thewafer above the STI regions define inter-chip areas and areas in thewafer above the voids define chip areas. thinning the wafer; formingBEOL interconnects on the thinned wafer; coating a top surface of thethinned wafer with a passivation layer; and dicing a channel in the chipareas of the thinned wafer such that a predetermined portion of saidthinned wafer is detach, thereby forming pockets within the thinnedwafer.